Doordash - why does it suck so much and why does EVERY restaurant use them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've made a point of ordering food directly from websites - either by calling or going through their website and whatever ordering system they have and 9 out of 10 times, they use Door Dash and 9 out of 10 times, my orders are super late or one or several items are missing and they are just terrible!! WHY is it so bad and WHY do so many companies use them??? Even our reliable local places stopped having their own drivers and switched to Door Dash. And most of them have switched in the past couple of months, so not even at the height of the pandemic!

It's Big Tech, I'm afraid.This of it as hijacking. Doordash and others scrape the internet for restaurants, obtain the menu one way or another, then pay for the SEO to appear at the top of Google searches. People instinctively click on the top several ads and don't pay attention to the small details. They aren't been led to the restaurant website, they are being led to another site, so your're ordered from Doordash. Doordash places the order and pays. The driver picks it up and delivers.

If the meal is cold or yucky and you call the restaurant, they will blow you off generally because you aren't the customer, Doordash is. Doordash et al often list their pizza as less than the restaurants prices! So say the restaurant charges $20/pizza, the delivery app will charge $17. They will eat the cost as venture capitalists don't care, then eventually force the restaurant to succumb to being listed on their app. It's 100% sick. I can't find the crazy article about the DC pizza restaurant who fought back by putting raw dough in the food delivery app orders, effectively earning $10 or so for raw dough. Customers would complain, the restaurant would refer them to the app and the app would have to reimburse them. It was freaking brilliant. I just can't find the article to post here.

TLDR: DO NOT USE FOOD DELIVERY APPS. They are one of the biggest scams in the history of the internet. You cannot say you love food and small business if you use them.

"When Grubhub doubled the number of restaurants listed on its platform in 2019, approximately 10% of them were official partners, the company told shareholders. (Grubhub later said it stopped adding merchants without their permission.) Postmates, which is owned by Uber, said in a regulatory filing last fall that its platform boasted 700,000 businesses — but just 115,000 were official partners, according to the Wall Street Journal."

"A DoorDash spokesperson says the company “is proud of the role our platform plays in helping restaurants connect with new customers and generate additional revenue, particularly during these tough times.” A representative for Grubhub says the company supports the legislation and “encourage[s] the city to make it permanent.”

The D.C. Council passed a temporary 15% cap on delivery app commissions in May after restaurant owners said the fees — which are invisible to customers — were chewing up their profits during the pandemic. Seattle, San Francisco and Portland have approved similar rules."

https://dcist.com/story/21/02/02/dc-bill-bans-apps-listing-restaurants-no-consent/
https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/507319/d-c-could-forbid-delivery-apps-from-listing-restaurants-without-permission/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I often see the Door Dash food sitting on racks waiting for pickup in restaurants where the food should be eaten while hot. Why do people order food, pay a premium to get it delivered, only to get ice cold ruined food? I don't see why anyone would not only use it but pay extra for cold food.

Most of the time the orders sitting there getting cold are ones with awful tips. Drivers see the estimated total of the delivery so they can decline if it's a low amount. Moral of the story: If you're too cheap to leave a event tip, go get your own food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We once had a DoorDash driver eat a piece of our pizza. Never again.

Ew.

Yep. This is why in the pandemic, a lot of places started sealing thier delivery containers. There was some article that said around….40 or 50 percent of delivery drivers eat some of the food.

[Anonymous]

Stop being lazy.

[Anonymous]

Every delivery service I’ve tried has been terrible—so slow and food nasty by the time they come with stuff missing or wrong. We are a big family so it’s not a small order. We pick up.
I have given my elderly parents gift certificates though to try to keep them off the road….wish there was a better option. We would order in more often if it was easier/better.

[Anonymous]

We pick up...and call in orders that require any type of account or login.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I often see the Door Dash food sitting on racks waiting for pickup in restaurants where the food should be eaten while hot. Why do people order food, pay a premium to get it delivered, only to get ice cold ruined food? I don't see why anyone would not only use it but pay extra for cold food.

Most of the time the orders sitting there getting cold are ones with awful tips. Drivers see the estimated total of the delivery so they can decline if it's a low amount. Moral of the story: If you're too cheap to leave a event tip, go get your own food.

Or just cook it yourself.

[Anonymous]

I’ve never done door dash or Uber eats. You all say to leave a good tip. What percentage is that good tip? Just want to know for the future if I go down that road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I use it all the time and rarely have an issue. Food normally comes quickly.

Me too. Never had an issue. I do tip well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you watched them on the map? Even with a $15 tip and only 10min drive, doordash doubles up orders and your food visits other people before it gets to you.

This is our experience as well. When they double up, you’re good is likely going to be cold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use it all the time and rarely have an issue. Food normally comes quickly.

Me too. Never had an issue. I do tip well.

are you tipping in advance or once it arrives at your door?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD has always been fine for me. You do need to tip decently.

Or just cut out the middle man and extra expense and go pick up your food in person. Lazy ass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD has always been fine for me. You do need to tip decently.

Or just cut out the middle man and extra expense and go pick up your food in person. Lazy ass.

This is irrational. Oftentimes in life we pay for services. There’s lots of stuff you can do on your own but pay others for the convenience to enhance your life. Sounds like you prefer to pick up food. When I order it’s usually because I am doing other things and it’s a convenience. Your life must be easier in several components.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD has always been fine for me. You do need to tip decently.

Does the driver get to see the tips amount when you place the order?

Not the tip, but the value of the entire order. Many many people leave no tip at all. I tried being a Dasher over covid and was really surprised how many people don’t tip even a dollar. Nothing. Also, the app will sometimes send you on 45 minute journey to bring a bottle of wine for a $2.50 delivery pay and if you don’t pay attention you’ll get stuck spending over an hour for $2.50. And then get no tip. In one case it was an underage purchaser so I had to return the bottle of wine wasting time. Sometimes you get lucky. I support the collective action some dashers did where they swiped no to any delivery less than $7 total pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you watched them on the map? Even with a $15 tip and only 10min drive, doordash doubles up orders and your food visits other people before it gets to you.

This is our experience as well. When they double up, you’re food is likely going to be cold.

Same. I'm in Old Town and have only used Door Dash a couple times. Both times they went completely in the opposite direction to deliver someone else's order first.